The following polyether group antibiotics are known previously:
NIGERICIN -- Antibiot. & Chemoth. l, 594 (1951),
X-537A and X-206 -- J. am. Chem. Soc. 73, 5295 (1951),
MONENSIN -- Antimicr. Agents & chemoth. 349 (1967),
GRISORIXIN -- Ann. Phytopath. 2, 555 (1970),
DIANEMYCIN -- Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 45, 1279 (1971),
SALINOMYCIN -- Japanese Pat. Application No. 19620/72,
A-28695A and A-28695B - Japanese Pat. application No. 129162/72 and
A-204A -- J. Am. Chem. Soc. 95, 3399 (1973).
Among them, A-28695A and A-28695B which are produced by a strain of Streptomyces albus are found to have four or three methoxy groups in the molecules, respectively. A-204A which is also produced by the same species has five methoxy groups in the molecule. On the other hand, other antibiotics amoung them do not have so many methoxy groups as these.
The present antibiotic, TM-841, produced by a microorganism of the Streptomyces ribosidificus group, has been found to have four methoxy groups in its molecule like A-28695A. TM-481, however, distinctly differs with A-28695A in melting point, infrared absorption spectrum, Rf value on thin layer chromatography, species of producing microorganism and so on. TM-481 of this invention is, therefore, elucidated to be a novel compound of polyether group antibiotics.